INTERVIEW: French Death Metal band Benighted

Vocalist Julien Truchan speaks ahead of their Indian tour

In the past year, foreign bands have started touring across India not only playing one off shows. The first was Australian technical death metal band Psycroptic and this weekend French death metal band Benighted will embark on a tour across the country.

Benighted are one of the well known metal bands from France. The band have released 7 albums over the past 2 decades. Earlier this year, they released a concept album, Necrobreed through Season of Mist. The album continues in the death metal vein of their previous albums and is a ferocious listen.

I spoke to vocalist Julien Truchan about Necrobreed, their tour of India and also their upcoming plans.

Transcending Obscurity (Peter K): It has been 20 years since the band first started out. How does it feel looking back?

Benighted (Julien): It’s a huge pride for me that we went so far with what was just a funny project with friends rehearsing in my father’s garage at the beginning. We have now the opportunity to tour around the whole world, meet always more people and share our music on stage with a bigger mass, which is absolutely awesome! We have recorded 8 albums, toured with so many great bands that I admired so much when I was a teenager and that now became friends… I really live a dream with Benighted and we will continue to go farer in our music to give all people who support us what they deserve and unleash our rage on stage during the tours.

TO: You are performing in India for the first time. How did the tour come about?

Benighted: Yes, and I am so excited about that! Actually our manager got contacted by an Indian booker who appeared to be very motivated to organize this tour, which seemed to be a huge thing to settle because a lot of offers from local bookers when he announced we will tour Asia. He had to make choices and already think about a second tour next time to play in the countries we can’t for this one. That’s how was born the Necrobreed indian:Asian Tour.

TO: You are the only member from the original line up. What has kept you going despite all the lineup changes?

Benighted: Yes, I am. And trust me; it costs a lot of energy to assume all the line-up changes. But Benighted is in my blood and I can’t give up on it just because of fatigue or too many changes in the band. The passion still burns in me and I will give everything I have in my guts to keep this machine going on. Being on stage is such a unique sensation and our first purpose is to share the energy we have with the crowd.

TO: Necrobreed, your 8th full length album is a ferocious listen. Tell us a bit more about the album?

Benighted: Yes, it was out in February this year and it received and amazing welcome from everywhere. This album is actually the most vicious and brutal offering we ever made, it’s exactly like a horror movie that you watch with your ears. I work as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital in “normal life”, and all the lyrics and concepts in our albums come from my professional experience. For Necrobreed, it’s about a schizophrenic man who wants to build his own-family with dead animals he finds on the side of the road. Once at home, he stitches them to his belly to simulate like an “extra-abdominal” pregnancy, and once the infection gets his tissues, he feels like the animal is alive again so he cuts the stitches off and give him birth. The concept fits perfectly with the very insane parts of the music that you will find between very brutal and fast ones and breakdowns which are perfect to break your neck on it! Ah ha!

TO: What have you been listening to lately (metal and non-metal)? Are there any acts that have inspired you of late?

Benighted: I discovered recently the German band Der Weg Einer Freiheit which inspired me a lot of emotions listening to their music, and those guys are amazing musicians and such great dudes, I love them! Concerning my personal influences, the bands that inspire me the most are for sure Napalm Death, Dying Fetus, Aborted, Anaal Nathrakh and Shining.

TO: What are your thoughts on the current state of death metal?

Benighted: You can find now so many good bands from every country, it’s amazing! Each time I play at some festivals, I discover new ones with a very personal and effective way to play death metal! My crush recently would go to the Swedish band Cut Up whose music is so effective with this typical Swedish sound!

TO: Do you have any shows/tour planned next year?

Benighted: Absolutely, we will play the legendary 70 000 Tons of Metal on the big boat in February, then lots of festivals like mighty Obscene Extreme (Czech Rep), Party San (Germany). Also a US tour in July, and a European one in autumn 2018 with one of my favorite bands that will be announced soon…

TO: What has been your favourite city/venue to perform in so far?

Benighted: I always love to play in Paris in France, and also Tilburg in Netherlands. But there are too many I love to play every time to tell them all.

TO: What are you looking forward to at your shows in India?

Benighted: I am very very impatient to see how crazy the crowds can be in India, I only heard great stuff about metal fans here and I can’t wait to be on stage and also meet our fans here, it will be fantastic!

TO: Do you have any pre show rituals?

Benighted: Actually I don’t, we just talk a bit between us and I try every vocal style for fun with one of my guitarists, it’s a joke between us! Ah ah! He counts until five and I try each of my vocal styles.

TO: What can fans expect from your set?

Benighted: They can wait for a huge blast of energy and savagery on stage. Stage is the place where we express ourselves the best, we move a lot and we love to share this with the crowd! For example, I try to make people scream with me the chorus, etc. Our gigs are like a huge party where the crowd reactions are as important as the band on stage!

TO: Thanks for answering all our questions. Do you have any final words?

Benighted: Thank you very much for this interview, we live in 2 days now and I can’t wait to discover your country, culture and what metal is made of in India! It will be unforgettable for sure! Stay sick!

Peter K aka Trendcrusher has an insatiable desire to discover the most obscure bands from around the world. He occasionally contributes here in addition to running his own blog called Trendcrusher and being active in supporting bands from the region and around the world.